Watching from Afar
by themiller
Summary: A series of oneshots revolving around the progression of Annabeth and Percy's relationship. From Luke's POV, concerning his early observations and later musings.
1. Casualties

**Disclaimer: I own nothing here...**

**A/N: Ok, so ****Into the Darkness ****is currently on hiatus due to the fact that I can't access it right now. So, to make up for it, I'm putting my next great idea in motion. You guys like oneshots, so this is a series of oneshots showing Luke's thoughts on Percy and Annabeth's relationship. I'm not sure how long it'll be… maybe only 5 chapters (one for each book Luke is alive in). **

**Also, to those of you who mentioned Percy's build in Miscalculation—**

**When I described Percy, I used a combination of both Rick's work and my own experience. Most people's only comment was on Percy's… I guess muscles. So, I would like you guys to imagine holding a sword. It's three feet in length, and fits perfectly into your hand. Now, you all of a sudden realize that the thing is made of metal. Swinging that thing around day after day is going to build some serious muscle. Now factor in wearing a bunch of heavy armor, along with the simple cardio you get from running around in all that, and you end up with a dude that is at least slightly ripped. I'm not trying to idolize our favorite son of Poseidon by giving him an awesome body. I'm just being realistic about his appearance and life. **

**Anyways. Sorry about the rambling.**

**Hope you guys enjoy.**

**R&R!**

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><p>As Luke looked out the window of Cabin 11, he reminisced about the new kid who had arrived at camp not days before. Poor guy. Lost his mother to one of the most evil monsters in Greek mythology. He then was shoved face first into the world of Ancient Greece, one full of tragedy and things that shouldn't exist.<p>

Luke liked him though. There was something about this Percy kid that made you naturally want to be around him. While at first he didn't look like much, what with his scrawny appearance and apparent idiocy, his bravery was obvious from the moment he arrived, ever since he killed the damned Minotaur.

Percy made Luke slightly jealous for that. Hadn't even been to camp yet and he was a hero in most people's eyes. Even if people liked Luke, it had been after him working to gain their trust, not just waltzing in and everyone instantly thinking he could save the world from war.

But despite that jealousy, Luke still liked him. The two had a lot in common. Mostly a strong dislike for the immortal side of their family…

But Luke wasn't the only one who was taking a liking to Percy despite a barrier.

As soon as Annabeth had seen the guy, he'd seen something in her eyes change. No one else had noticed it, except for maybe Chiron. He doubted even Annabeth noticed.

But it had been there. A flash of hope, as well as something else. Something that wasn't surprising, seeing as that tragic girl was now twelve, and she had been faced with a guy her age that honestly wasn't that bad in the looking department.

That knowledge made him like the guy even more. As much as Luke loved Annabeth, he wanted her to stop making him out to be some sort of god. While that was ok for a seven year old girl to do, especially considering the circumstances, Annabeth was reaching the age when it would begin to look like an obsession.

And an obsession with Luke Castellan was not something that poor girl wanted.

So yes. Luke liked the boy. He liked his skill set. He hated that just because of his big bad daddy he was getting this incredibly important quest that could save all of humanity, but that wasn't really something Luke could be mad about, seeing as he was the one who really caused the quest in the first place.

Luke was beginning to like the boy enough that he was actually slightly regretting the fact that he was going to die. He hoped that his master would follow through so that Annabeth and Grover would be spared, but there was no guarantee that Percy would be. But, there are always casualties in war…

Even casualties that the traitor regrets.

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><p><strong>Short, I know.<strong>

**But that's ok.**

**I think. **

**There wasn't much to say for this one honestly.**

**I could have gone into the sword fighting, but that would have been overdoing it.**

**The next ones will be quite a bit longer, and will focus more on Luke's perception of Annabeth's attitude towards Percy. This one was just harder to write, as there was only really animosity between those two at the beginning of the book.**


	2. Longing

**A/N: Sorry guys! My bad. I have way too many stories going on here. I try to alternate and spend my time equally, but I fail epically….**

**So, here's what you've been asking for.**

**Watching From Afar, Chapter 2:**

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><p>Luke watched the beach line of New York, thinking about what was happening at his—… <strong>the <strong>camp at that very moment. He thought about the young boy he had nearly killed, and of his continual improvement as a hero.

He thought about the girl who had once been a sister to him, and who he had betrayed yet again, despite her unwavering—and hopeless—faith that he would "do the right thing".

He especially thought about the girl he was saving. The girl who had caused this entire plan to be put into motion.

The girl who had been saved by his love for her.

Though he hated to admit it, it was true. He was in love with Thalia Grace.

The plan had begun as a way to end the pitiful half-bloods quickly and easily. It had been, of course, the idea of Kronos. The master of time himself.

However, Luke had seen a big problem with the plan. Well, two big problems. The first was that poisoning the tree like that would kill the girl he loved. But he couldn't tell Kronos that. It was basically begging for a long, slow, painful death. The second was that he recognized that it was very possible that one Annabeth Chase would think of retrieving the one thing that could cure any poison, injury, or disease—the Golden Fleece.

And Kronos had loved Luke's idea. They both knew what would happen. The Fleece would heal Thalia.

And Luke knew the personalities of the two most powerful demigods on the planet well enough that he could tell that things would only go downhill from there. They would fight over everything; leadership, strategy, sacrifice, probably even down to the color of the freaking plume on the helmet.

They were just too perfect for their destiny for two of them to exist.

But of course, Luke could honestly care less about the clashing that would weaken the gods' to a point of no return.

All he cared about was that, after nearly five years, he would finally get her back. Get Thalia Grace back into his life.

His brooding fantasies of their reunion, which involved tears, romantically switching sides in the war for each other, and passionate, heated kisses, reminded him of another relationship that only he and maybe two other people saw developing—that of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase.

His spy, being a daughter of Aphrodite, knew all about it. Selena was a special child of love. She wasn't about the lusty side that her mother was so famous for. She was a child of the side that represented pure, unbridled, passionate, deep, caring, beautiful love, that which could never be taken away.

And, according to her, the two of them were practically a freaking sun when it came to that.

Normally, he wouldn't have cared about romance. But, even if Annabeth was pissed at him, he still loved her as his sister. That was a caring that could never be taken away either—familial love.

Not the kind that you necessarily feel for your blood and kindred; he already knew that, sometimes, blood wasn't enough to create caring and kindness.

But the people who care for you, who want to see you succeed, who helped you grow into the person you are now… That bond can never be taken away.

And, as his "sister", he felt responsible for her—especially those who she was falling in love with.

Of course, this "love" was still developing. Love at first sight probably didn't exist, but if it did, it wasn't for these two. Yes, they were attracted to each other, not they'd admit it to anyone, even themselves. And yes, they have already begun the first step to love, being best friends. But it wasn't all the way there yet. It was like a half-finished sculpture. The love existed; you just had to chip away all the excess stone first. And it appeared as if this particular sculpture was going to take a while.

He genuinely enjoyed hearing Selena describe the two of them. It was the one part of his betrayal of his friends that he actually liked. Though he wished he could experience it first hand, this was the best he could get, and he was going to be happy about it.

He enjoyed hearing about their petty arguments. They'd barely known each other for a year and they already bickered worse than any senior citizen couple. The only difference between the two was that the bickering could end in one of them being seriously hurt. Though, if his thoughts about them were correct, he doubted it would ever come to real blows.

He enjoyed their defense of each other. Neither realized why they were doing it; even with secondhand accounts, that much was obvious. They obviously assumed it was because they didn't want to see their best friend get hurt. While that was sort of true, the actual story went so much deeper than that.

He especially enjoyed hearing about their worry for the other's opinion of them about little things like appearance. Just like the defense, they assumed it was their strong friendship. What neither of them realized was that people who were just really close friends didn't care about what their friends thought of them, as long as they continued caring for each other. With these two, the self-consciousness was so thick, Backbiter couldn't have put a mark in it.

But his favorite part was when Selena described a moment went one of them—surprisingly, mostly Annabeth—caught themselves staring at the other. The utter confusion on their faces (according to Selena) was only comparable to the glazed look on the face of a child of Ares when Chiron started talking about construction of a new war machine. It was like they believed that the only way something like that was possible was through trickery and illusion, just one they couldn't see.

Luke was happy that Annabeth had found Percy; gods knew he could use someone to lean on right now.

Someone like Thalia…

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><p><strong>AN: Ok, so not my best work. Sorry, it's been a long week. Three baseball games on three consecutive nights were tiring. However, I knew that you guys were practically begging me for an update, so I complied as quickly as I could.**


	3. Insanity

**A/N: Soooooo sorry about the wait. I am way too busy right now to actually write, and I just can't seem to find any extra time anywhere. So, ya know, sorry. **

**And now, Watching From Afar, Chapter 3!**

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><p>Luke could only marvel at the idiot hero's obvious love for Luke's blonde captive.<p>

He had thought he was in love with Thalia. He now realized that whatever attraction he had to her could never be love.

Unless this particular example was just the most extreme case of love ever.

Which, looking closely, seemed completely possible. Any other person would have been insane to do this.

Percy's first crazy action was to try and follow the little group of heroes. That in itself was enough to place him in a psych ward. Not only were they going on one of the most dangerous quests in recent history, but he had been told explicitly not to follow by one of the most powerful beings on the planet—Lady Artemis, goddess of the hunt.

Of course, the fact that he had that extra protrusion on his body that half the human race doesn't would only serve to further anger the goddess, and she was temperamental enough as it was.

**(Thunder rolls in the distance as I write those words)**

Then there was the fact that he was simultaneously trailing a monster that had essentially defeated him. A manticore. Deadly beyond humanity's capability to imagine.

Actually, the manticore was probably the least dangerous thing he was trailing. The General, Atlas was far more dangerous. Like, on a scale of one to ten where the manticore was an eleven, Atlas was a one-hundred twenty-one. Probably not the best idea ever.

No shit Luke. Titan.

But the most dangerous idea was that they were rushing towards San Francisco, the most perilous place in the United States for a follower of Olympus.

Percy was not heading for certain death; he was heading for extreme pain, definite torture, probable breaking of spirit, and then agonizing death.

While Luke would have risked a lot for Thalia, he wouldn't have risked that…

Of course, once again, it wasn't surprising.

Based on the reports from Selena, the tension in the air when the Son of Poseidon and Daughter of Athena were within fifty feet of one another was enough to halt a top-speed stock car in its tracks. It was as if they thought that the strong feelings that they had toward the other were fear, suspicion, and dislike. But, at the same time, they recognized each other as best friends.

Talk about mixed emotions.

But the tension wasn't the only thing that was noticeable.

Selena spoke often of how Annabeth's eyes would glaze over when Percy's name was mentioned.

Or how Percy would stumble when he saw the color grey.

How Annabeth would be caught gazing intently at the sea, as if it were simultaneously the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and the most annoying inanimate object to ever cross her path.

How Percy would grin wider than the freaking Joker when Annabeth complimented him.

How Annabeth would turn a furious shade of red if Percy returned the favor.

How Percy would have to be held back from mauling someone who went even slightly too far insulting Annabeth.

How Annabeth would break through her friends and maul the person if they did the same to Percy.

How "Seaweed Brain" was said with the tone of "The-greatest-guy-to-have-ever-walked-the-earth".

How "Wise Girl" was said with the tone of "The-most-amazing-girl-ever-in-the-freaking-universe".

As Luke thought about it, he realized that while he was happy for Annabeth, the growing affection between the two heroes could prove to be a problem for him.

How so, you ask?

Well, as Luke saw it, Percy was on the path (or already there) to falling completely in love with Annabeth Chase. And if the guy was crazy enough to follow a group of heroes who really didn't want his company, if the guy was crazy enough to risk the wrath of Artemis, if the guy was crazy enough to chase after a freaking manticore, if the guy was crazy enough to tail the most powerful Titan, if they guy was crazy enough to go straight into enemy territory, all for this one girl, then what would the extremely, incredibly powerful demigod do to Luke if he caught him before the… transformation happened?

Best case scenario? Cut of his head within the first two seconds of seeing him.

Worst case? Well…

The River Styx suddenly sounded like a really good idea.

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><p><strong>AN: Maybe not the longest or best chapter/story/insert word here ever, but I am quickly discovering just how SLOOOOOOWLY this romance progressed. It's difficult to draw it out like this, especially when you're just kind of doing an overview of each book…**

**Oh well.**

**The next one will be nice and juicy.**

**Hehe.**


	4. AN

**A/N: Ok, so guys, I just realized something. This story is over. Why? Because, well, at this point in the timeline, Luke isn't exactly aware of his surroudings. Side effect of having a dark lord possess you. **

**Having said that, I regret to inform you that chapter 3 of ****Watching From Afar**** was the last chapter in this story. **

**With this announcement, I also include the fact that I am currently writing my first songfic… AND IT'S NOT PJO!  
>Sorry guys, but my inspiration fits so perfectly with this other universe that I just can't resist…<strong>

**Watch for it, please! It's called ****Ghost on the Dance Floor****, obviously being based off the Blink-182 song…**

**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**


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